Sunday, 31 January 2016

While I did do a decent job of set building a Young-Gunless Series 1 of Upper Deck S1, I was still about 50 cards or so out. So, 1 blaster wouldn't hurt, would it? I should take at least a small shot at a McDavid Young Gun card, shouldn't I? Even if the chance is 1:25 with two cards per blaster?

But first, my favourite base card photos in this box. Some dupes for my varied PCs. Some bound to be parts in future trade packages. Some, like the Kadri, have been posted before here. But some were needs, such as that Nathan Beaulieu with a beautiful shot that includes the iconic arena roof at MSG.

And my favourite photos among the horizontal cards. And my second need card which also featured the MSG roof on it with Quick.

On to the inserts:

The box promised one box Oversized Young Guns card. This was it, and since Robby Fabbri was a Guelph Storm alum, it was part of a package sent out to OrlandoBolts from zistle this past Monday.

The one per blaster Portrait insert.

The one per blaster Shining Stars insert.

The one per blaster Canvas insert. At least I can add it to my Rangers alum binder.

And the base Young Guns. And, showing what quality I've received from my YG pulls, Oscar Lindberg was by far the best of the bunch. At least I can add Bibeau and his Marlies mask to that binder.

The only good thing about this is that inspired me to update my wantlist at zistle, and I've got a trade in progress to knock the wantlist down to just 5 cards.

Saturday, 30 January 2016

I hit the local show this morning, and despite my promise to myself not to, I left with more cards for other people than I did for myself. Let's take a look.

I guess this was the big pick-up for me today. As I walked in the door, I noticed there was one dealer with a table filled with McFarlane figures, with the table labeled "Any McFarlane - $5". Sounds good for me. And as you read it, this has already been freed from its plastic prison for display,

While that has been freed from its jail, this won't be:

It wasn't until I saw a bin with a bunch of encased cards that I realized my Mets collection was lacking any sort of graded card. Fixed that with this 1970 card. If you can't see the text at the top, there's a bonus here in that this a bilingual OPC card! WOO-HOO!

And the first card of this post that will be going elsewhere, with this being dropped in the direction of a Mavericks fan sometime next week.

No dime bins this time, but I still got a couple cards for my various binders. I couldn't pass on a cheap Alfredsson rookie for his binder. That Don Beaupre with Parliament and the flag is probably bound for my mask collection. While that Michael Jordan silver signature parallel probably isn't technically an oddball, it is hard not to view his baseball releases as something outside the norm. On the bottom, it leads off with an autograph of a recent enforcer, and an Ivy league one at that. Next to it, an odd sight. Juan Samuel didn't have too many cards as a Blue Jay, Getting an autograph on it is a bonus. Sadly for Phillies fans, that was his only certified auto until he showed as a Fan Favorite auto in 2013 Archives. And finally, a new Radek Faksa for my Rangers alumni collection.

Like with the Devin Harris, these cards will be on their way elsewhere. Some next week, some when I've got a little more to fill out the care packages. I've still got a pair of repacks, from the same source as last show that I'll show off sometime next week.

Friday, 29 January 2016

Today, a name themed post. From the better Reb Brown names from Space Mutiny, to the Bob Johnsons of the world, as I continue to work my way through the COMC 'to be posted' boxes.

Firstly, someone whose parents had definitely taken advantage of their nine months and came up with Ludovicus to go with the Van Mil. He does sign his autograph as Loek, a nickname, but that's still a great name on the card. He was still in AAA during 2015, and if he makes the bigs, he'll be the tallest person in MLB at 7 foot 1.

Wilmer? David? That's pretty Bob Johnson-y.

But Vinegar Bend is definitely Smash LampJawish.

Arquimedez Pozo! That's a name that would be fun to say as an in-stadium announcer. While he is listed as a Mariner here, he'd only play one game for them, but did move on and play 25 games for Boston.

Now, Scott Blewett. That is a very, very unfortunate last name for a pitcher. Nice penmanship, though.

On to basketball names, and definitely another one that would be fun to say. Especially with the excitable basketball announcers. I was imaging Herbie Kuhn, the arena announcer for the Raptors, proclaiming "Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje for THREEEEE!". And then I checked basketball-reference and realize he never made a three-pointer in his career.

James Thrash. For football, that's an anti-Blewett name.

Why yes, yes, this guy had to go around with a rather unpleasant, if slightly-misspelled slur toward homosexuals on the back of his jersey. De'Cody is a pretty good first name though. There's also a Jaxxon with the same last name that has a Leaf autograph from the Perfect Game subsets.

Thursday, 28 January 2016

The first card isn't on its way to the Expos binder, but instead will be joining the 2/14 collection. Craig Bjornson also is the third member of a pretty specific portion of the binder, being players that I have cards of both as a coach and as a player. He's also the only one for whom those cards are both minor league issues. The other two? Bernie Geoffrion (Canadiens and Atlanta Flames) and Fred Carter (who both played for and coached the Philadephia 76ers).

Here, Craig is shown as the pitching coach on the Vermont Expos. When the Expos moved, they briefly retained their affiliation with the Nationals, and are now an Oakland affiliate, calling themselves the Lake Monsters. They probably could have kept that logo and just changed the text.

And now, from the days where there was a team in Montreal to now, where Expos still show up on occasion in Topps set. This card salutes a game in which Montreal beat the Cubs 17-15, but almost blew a 15-2 lead in the process. Andre smacked a pair of 3-run homers in the 5th, on a day that the wind might have been a little gusty, and blowing out at Wrigley.

And let's wrap it up with a really nice auto, both in terms of aesthetics and in terms of adding it to my Montreal binder. While Expos cards have been showing up in Archives with a pleasant regularity (I've pulled DeShields and Grissom from boxes), it is so nice to see them in higher end releases as well. Andres' autos tend to go for a decent sum, so getting one for $7.00 in COMC credit was an easy decision.

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

While Ayako Hamada has made appearances in a couple of Tristar TNA sets, this is my first of her from outside the US, where she made her name. This is a 2003 release, well before her short run in the States.

The best thing is I don't need to know Japanese to find out where this photo is from, being a reproduction of a photo from a 2002 magazine.

And #2 for the collection is this Ovation card of Takashi Saito. At least in COMC land, this is the only Japanese card of his. This might actually be my first NPB card period in my collection, but I can't say for certain as I've likely pulled at least one oddball of these from a repack.

Card #22 for Saito, which has him tied with Dave Dravecky for 5th in the baseball portion, and #4 for Hamada, which has her leading the miscellaneous portion.

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Fudge. Pig tails. Steak & Kidney Pie. Blackberries. And cards. All part of my first time at the flea market since Baby 2016 kicked Old Man 2015 to the curb.

While I did grab one of my usual $5 bricks, I did get some singles, so I'll be leaving the repack for a future post. Time to show off some miscellany.

I do not see a lot of basketball cards at the flea market. Ever. And if I do, they are more likely than not early 90s Hoops cards. So it was nice to see something this time. While much of this was the expected players (Kobe, Jordan) this little beauty was lurking in the box. I was not expecting to find anything besides perhaps a Raptor for my PC, so seeing 2/14 baby Richard Hamilton was really nice. Rip moves closer to the half century mark with his 48th card in the collection. He leads the basketball portion easily, with 13 cards more than Muresan.

And one good 2/14 baby card deserves another. Card #21 for the '14 #1 draft pick. And probably the loudest of the bunch.

I did add a couple Bills cards to my collection. This one puzzled me at first. It was obviously Prestige, but the colour scheme didn't fit the Bills portion of the set. The back of this card lists this as being from the "2014 Panini - Buffalo Bills" set. So, Stadium Giveaway? I'd think they'd be better off giving away flimsy card tables that the Bills Mafia can perform wrestling moves through.

At least I know the source for the this Fred Jackson card.

And that's it for me, but I always look for cards for others.

Such as a high-end base card for a Wolverines collection.

And a high end base card for a Mountaineers collector, along with some lower end base cards of a pair of Mountaineers in their college uniforms.

Monday, 25 January 2016

Two PWEs showed up this past week, and in my determination to keep on top of things, I'm going to handle these before I get to stuff from the flea market this past weekend.

First up, some zistle trading.

I'm always happy to welcome new cards to the 2/14 collection, especially when it adds a new vintage card to my collection. With this Larry Seiple card, and the 1974 Topps card on the way from COMC, that means I will only need his 1977 Topps Mexican card (DELFINES!) to complete his cardboard run. As dor Graham, this is my 11th card of his.

And the third card is a new Raptors card. The black diamond-ish etching on this really makes it shiny in hand.

The second PWE was from Mark @ This Way To The Clubhouse.

Even Senators-loving me can like this Leafs card. A great design with the team name window, and the throwback uniform Kessel is sporting. Being interested in a photo on a hit is a rarity, but this one makes it so.

If I were the type to chase a one page rainbow for a card, this one might be the one I opt for. It is someone who there isn't a major demand for in the collecting universe, but it is still a great photo on the card.

Shiny! It looks like David Price will be in '16 Series 1, still as a Blue Jay, so I can still add one more card of his to my Jays PC. I'm really happy to add these Chrome Updates to my collections, since packs of these aren't readily available on this side of the border.

Josh, on the other hand, should still have many more cards of his to add in Blue Jays colours.

And finally, two more Jays cards to wrap things up. Much like with the Chromes, I don't see much of the Spring Fever stuff up here. Finally, there's a nice Joe Carter for his PC. I feel I've been slacking in additions to that lately, so it is nice to add even one new card.

Sunday, 24 January 2016

The Royal Rumble goes tonight, so why not show off the cards from a rack pack grabbed from Wally World?

No complaint about the cover boys for this. I assume that given the Heritage theme, Hulk Hogan might have been one of the three, but given his fall from grace, he's nowhere to be seen, and doesn't appear to have any cards at all anywhere in this set.

The top half:

I have no complaints when my first card out is one of Canada's finest exports to the wrestling world. CanCon is all over this, with the appearance of Owens and Edge as well. Kevin Owens does also get the rookie card designation. If someone told me that Bruno Sammartino would be in a WWE set a few years back, I would not have believed it.

The base set is 110 cards, with the first 50 being legends, the next 10 being divas, then 40 current wrestlers, with the last 10 being NXT/Rookies. Ones that are on the main roster get the base card design from #51 to #100, while those not on the roster get the NXT logo.

The black bordered parallels fall at a rate of 1:6 in these, meaning I ended up with two R-Truth cards within the same portion of the pack.

And if you haven't checked out R-Truth's birthday celebration from Smackdown's off-air taping on Tuesday, check it out.

Part two contained a few more base cards and the inserts. DON'T YOU DARE BE SOWA! The New Day is all over this grouping of cards. Pour one out for Francesca the Trombone. There's one of the NXT cards as well. The coupon is for $3 off a blaster. Considering I've seen 0 blasters at Walmart, I'm just glad that wasn't considered one of the cards in the pack. One the insert row, was that really the best photo that they could find from that match? The Sting insert set is 40 cards worth, while the others are 30 each. It looks like Davey Boy is wearing one of the legendary Ribera Steakhouse jackets on his card, which is just great.

Friday, 22 January 2016

Another trip through the COMC to be posted, and some new cards for my Kitchener Rangers alum binder, including two players making their collection debut.

The first debut card, and a card that has been waiting several months for a chance to post. Tobias made his debut last season and looks to sticking around. He was drafted by Edmonton, and shipped to the desert for Kale Kessy, who has yet to debut in the NHL. This was the only base card, all the rest are hits.

And the second debut in the binder is Frank Corrado. Frank only spent a half-season in Kitchener during a stretch run in 2013. He's bounced between the AHL and NHL the past couple seasons, and is now in the Leafs system.

From the same set, here's a teammate of Corrado from the end of the 12-13 season. Much like Corrado, Murphy has been spent the past few years going back and between the NHL and AHL. But, since Murphy was a high draft pick, I guess Carolina will be patient with him.

And a dual relic with two Rangers alumni wrap it up. Both spent their entire OHL career with Kitchener, and both made the Memorial Cup finals in their career. Derek Roy was part of the '03 winning team, while Mikkel was on the '08 team that won the OHL championship, but lost to Spokane in the final.

But the back of this card has everything to do with their height, but nothing about their juniors connection. But I'll still welcome this card to my collection, with it being my second NHL level card with more than 1 Rangers alum on it.